Intervals: Tired legs

[Retiree91]

Hi everyone,

I've been taking cycling seriously since January this year and have put down some solid base Km. I can ride 200km at 30km average by myself pretty easily and I go alright on the climbs too. I've just started to do interval training to get my speed up using my heart rate monitor and I've found that after a hard session of about an hour or so of steady state and interval sprints my legs for the next couple of days are just lifeless. I go for little recovery spins along the coast for 30 or 40mins and they feel fine but any real exertion and they just feel dead. After two or three days they're back to normal and good to go. I was just wondering if this is normal? Do you guys get this from this type of hard training?

Cheers,

Liam.

[KGB]

Sounds reasonably normal but everyone is different.
What sort of program are you following? Riding 200km at a 30 average is pretty hard IMO and is also completely different kind of hard to an hour of intervals.

[Retiree91]

I live in Perth W.A so the 200km LSD rides at 30km average are usually from my house to Mandurah which is reasonably flat and on a decent bike path. I don't do these all the time due to Uni and the fact that the route is kinda boring. Yeah I'm buggered after but it's nothing compared to the fatigue of hard interval training. I don't follow any sort of program, I just try do equal amounts of hills, long steady rides and now working in the intervals to build up some speed for racing. I don't know any cyclists, I come from a surfing background so I don't have anyone to tell me how it's all done. My main concern was just the length of recovery time after such interval training and what you guys experience?

[J Quinton]

What intervals are you doing?

[Retiree91]

Over unders on hill repeats and the ones where you rev up to speed and hold it for like 10mins and then spin easy and repeat. Kinda like a mock breakaway attempt interval. That's the one that's made my legs tired and tender for a few days I think.

[trailgumby]

I came from the same background (surfing) and got myself into trouble with overtraining. Adversely affected my work performance.

I strongly recommend getting a copy of Joe Friels The Cyclists Training Bible. Read thoroughly and use the periodization approach to develop some structure especially if you plan to race.

Increases in training volume should be limited to 10% per week and if you're dead for 3 days afterwards then you may be overreaching by too much. You need to be able to complete the next session properly.

[Retiree91]

I'll get that one out of the library at Uni mate, cheers for the recommendation.
I think doing intervals two or three days in a row is too much. At the time you feel up to it but a day later you cop it hahaha.
Thanks for your help.

[toolonglegs]

Doing hard intervals 3 days in a row is probably wasting your time... of course it depends how hard your intervals are. You can do say 3 x 5 minutes of VO2 ( really hard ) efforts one day, if well rested, then the next do longer intervals, say 2 x 20 minutes ( at a hard pace that you can keep steady for the entire 20 minutes ) ... but the 3rd day would definitely be a recovery or steady endurance paced ride.
Basically if you can't hit the level you want during the intervals then you should give up and turn it into a 2 hour endurance ride. Flogging a dead horse isn't training it to work at it's best.

[Retiree91]

Cheers toolong, I'll start doing exactly that.
When you say Endurance ride or long steady distance what length and speed do you recommend to make the most of it, but not over-blow?
I usually do an 80km ride and try keep a 30km average by the time I get home. Should I do more or less to get more improvements?

[toolonglegs]

It always depends on the individual ... And terrain. For me a medium pace endurance ride is just ticking it over at a steady pace, yeah about 30kmph on flattish ground for an hour or two. If you can't hit you intervals properly then you are fatigued, don't go silly on the ride length.
For 5 minute intervals maybe find a climb, heart rate is no good for judging them, if you don't have a power meter look up "perceived effort rating". You can get pretty good at judging efforts like that... Pacing is the key especially at the start... Although you need to find your limit so you probably go too hard a few times before getting it right.
For the 20 minute type intervals heart rate is better... Bring it up in the first 5 minutes and then it should plateau at an intensity that you can hold for 20 or 30. You don't always have to do these intervals at 100%... Do a bit of reading about SST etc ( sweet spot training ).
Make a long term plan... Say 3months with a goal race at the end. Make sure you get your rest right as well.
You don't need to go hard all time... But if you hours are limited ( say 8 or less a week ) then you probably want more hard than long easy stuff. More time means you can get in more longer easier rides.

[Dragster1]

Are you also eating right to gain recovery, try some Glutamine and see if it works for you everyone is different.